Apostolic Succession

By W. Hay M. H. Aitken M.A., Canon of Norwich

The fabric of Sacerdotalism rests upon the fundamental assumption that Jesus Christ created certain distinct orders of ministry, and assigned to each order specific prerogatives and functions; that, further, He instituted a quasi-sacramental ordinance—the laying-on of hands, whereby the capacity to exercise these ministrations should be imparted, so that those whom He first called might, by the laying-on of their hands, pass on to others all the ministerial powers that they themselves possessed, these, again, transmitting them to others, and thus maintaining a regular ministerial succession to the end of time. I have called this dogma an assumption, and it seems to me that I am justified in doing so, because there is so little to be found in the New Testament, or even in the earliest Christian literature after the completion of the Canon of the New Testament, that even seems to give the slightest colour to any such conclusions. Our Lord did, indeed, appoint twelve individuals, whom He called Apostles, who were to be with Him, and to share His labours and bear witness to His teaching. It is indisputable that these men held an altogether unique position. No other ministers of a later age could possibly exercise some of the most prominent functions that necessarily belonged to these, as is obvious on the smallest amount of reflection. First, they were to be His travelling companions and assistants, extending the influence of His mission, and in various ways contributing to its success. Second, they were directly commissioned to heal the sick, to cast out devils, and perform other mighty works. Third, they were to be personal witnesses to His character and to the great facts of His career. Fourth, they were to be the repositories of His oral teaching; and their memory of this was to be specially assured by the action of the Holy Ghost, so that they might hand down to others that which they had themselves learned from Christ. Fifth, as their name, implies, they were sent forth to carry the Gospel into the darkened world. They were to be evangelists rather than settled pastors; and all the stories of their settling down as “Bishops” of particular localities are mere traditions of a comparatively late date, and destitute of any historical value. Sixth, they were thus to be the human foundations of the Church, sharing, however, according to St. Paul, this distinction with another order of workers—the prophets of the Christian Church. In St. John's vision of the Holy City, she is described as having twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. Here it is to be observed that the number of those bearing this title in its original and strict sense is limited to twelve, whether that number was made up by the Apostles' choice of St Matthias or by Christ's own choice of St. Paul. Seventh, they were undoubtedly possessed of a certain limited authority in the Church—an authority that naturally flowed from the peculiarities of their office and position, that we have just been considering.

Now, it is clear that if there be such a thing as Apostolical Succession, and Bishops are their successors, they can only be their successors in one point out of seven, i.e., the last. In the other six respects Bishops cannot be the successors of the Apostles.

Before proceeding to consider whether Bishops are even successors of the Apostles in this one respect, and, if so, how far they are so, let us observe that the only other appointment that Our Lord is reported to have made is that of “the Seventy.” These labourers do not appear to have been either Bishops, priests, or deacons, and yet they were commissioned by Our Lord Himself, and it is of them that He says, “He that receiveth you, receiveth Me.” So far, then, was our Lord from instituting directly the three orders of the ministry that now exist that it may be said that He only set apart two classes of functionaries, and there is nothing to show that either of these was identical with any of these three orders. Is this what we should have expected, if, indeed, it be true that the very existence of the Christian Church depends upon the presence of one particular class of officials in her midst? To read more, click here.

For those unfamiliar with the term "Sacerdotalism," it refers to the Medieval Catholic and post-Tridentian Roman Catholic belief that emphasizes the powers of priests as essential mediators between God and humankind. The English Reformers rejects this belief as unscriptural in the sixteenth century. The Oxford Tractarians would reintroduce the belief in the Church of England in the nineteenth century. It is one of a number of unreformed Catholic beliefs held by contemporary Anglo-Catholics.

The Church Association was instituted in 1865. Canon Richard P. Blakeney (1820-1884), vicar of Christ Church, Claughton (near Birkenhead) was the key founder of the Association.

The first Annual Report contains an ‘address’ which presents its raison d’être as follows.

“The present estate of the United Church of England and Ireland is such as to demand the earnest attention and combined efforts of all who would maintain her position as the Established Church of these realms.

“The dangers which threaten her are internal, and arise form two opposite sources. On the one hand, there are public teachers within her Communion, who hold and preach rationalistic doctrines plainly opposed to her Articles and Formularies. On the other hand, there is an increasing section of the clergy who, having for their object the restoration of our Church to the Romish communion, are introducing into her worship vestments and ceremonies repudiated by our Reformers, and which are unauthorised by constitutional usage during the three centuries since the Reformation.

“It is the latter danger which presses at the moment, and the members of the Church may well be asked whether, reflecting with gratitude on the great work of the 16th century, they will tamely give up the pure ritual and liturgy of their Church, handed down by their Protestant forefathers. If they would preserve these, they must lose no time in exposing the practices, and withstanding the efforts which are now made to undermine the purity of her doctrine and simplicity of her worship. . . .”

The Church Association published a number of books and tracts in support of its objectives. This article is Church Association Tract 321.

Those wishing to learn more about the Church Association and its objectives will find a number of articles on the Church Society website.